Wednesday, December 16, 2009

WIPO goes green for domain name dispute resolution

Amid the ongoing global debate on climate change, the World Intellectual Property Organisation, (WIPO) has said it will launch paperless procedures in matters relating to domain name dispute from Monday.

The development is expected to substantially improve the efficiency of the mechanism by reducing the time and cost involved in submitting such applications and to save up to 1 million pages of paper filed per year making it a greener and largely paperless procedure, the Geneva-based WIPO said.

“From Monday, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre will launch essentially paperless UDRP procedures. This removes the requirement for mandatory filing and notification of paper pleadings in WIPO cases filed under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP),” it said in a statement.

The WIPO adopted the UDRP, a quick and cost effective dispute resolution procedure targeting cybersquatters, about a decade ago.

The UDRP provides trademark owners with an administrative echanism for the efficient resolution of disputes arising out of the bad-faith registration and use by third parties of internet domain names corresponding to those trademark rights.

From Monday, the organization will allow all parties in UDRP cases administered by WIPO to submit electronic-only filings, using email, it said. The WIPO is a specialised United Nations agency for developing a balanced and accessible international system in the field of intellectual property.